If I’ve Never Heard Of You — You’re Not Famous

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - FEBRUARY 02: Flea, Chad Smith, Anthony Kiedis and Josh Klinghoffer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers perform during the Pepsi Super Bowl XLVIII Halftime Show at MetLife Stadium on February 2, 2014 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images)

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - FEBRUARY 02: Flea, Chad Smith, Anthony Kiedis and Josh Klinghoffer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers perform during the Pepsi Super Bowl XLVIII Halftime Show at MetLife Stadium on February 2, 2014 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images)

You might think I sound a little jealous or petty in my blog title selection. But digging deeper I’ve found that not only is fame fleeting, it’s almost impossible to achieve in many cases. So where did this “You’re Not Famous If I’ve Never Heard of You,” come from?

The Super Bowl

I have watched every Super Bowl since number one back in 1967. Most of the earlier Super Bowl half time shows were various university bands. But that all changed in 1993 when Michael Jackson was the half time show. From then on only the very famous were featured at half time.

Since that time I have know every “big name” act since until the last Super Bowl half time show with someone called, “Bruno Mars.” But, in my defense, I was well aware of the other act, “The Red Hot Chili Peppers.”

Bruno and Bono

Apparently “Bruno” is a big deal in some music circles. But his fame did not trickle down to someone like me. So Bruno has some work to do because he’s not really famous yet.

The “RHCP’s” did however register with me, both as a known musical act, and a rudimentary familiarity with their music making them famous.

Another example is the band U2 with well-known lead singer and political activist Bono. I have heard of U2 and Bono and my TV has been full of promos for their new album recently.

For a band that had the most attended concert tour in the history of the world I would have to know some of their songs right?

So I wandered over to YouTube to check out some U2 songs. Did not recognize a single one. I thought that they must have been on some movie sound tracks certainly there would be something familiar there.

A quick Google search confirmed that U2 music was featured in several movies. Unfortunately they were all movies I had not seen and I have the total cable movie package of all pay channels.

So by the strict definition of famous in my world, U2 does not make the famous cut. Because I have heard of them and know at least one name in the band, the best they might expect is an “honorable mention.” They are not the Beatles or Rolling Stones.

Some Final Thoughts

According to “People Magazine,” and other so-called “celebrity web sites,” I should be in awe of the following people.

The point is, in order to be truly famous, your talent must reach the lowest common denominator, — me. The totally out of touch, average person, who doesn’t read People Magazine and doesn’t read the tabloids other than standing in the checkout line.

If you can intrude into my world enough for me to remember you — or your particular talent — you might just have a shot of being truly famous.

Otherwise, if I have to read the picture caption to remind me of who you are, then all you’ve done is confirm your unimportance in my life. You are not famous — yet.